A Short History of Nearly Everything Literary Elements

Non-fiction

Set in Europe and North America in the 1600s.

First-person narrative from Bill Bryson’s perspective

Edifying and whimsical

The protagonist is Bill Bryson, and the antagonists are humans who destroy the natural ecosystem.

There is a major conflict between humankind and the environment. Humans are consistently destroying the environment, thus endangering the entire ecosystem.

The climax comes when The New York Times recognizes Arno and Robert as the most successful astronomers in history.

The uncontrolled human activities foreshadow the extinction of some animals and plant species from the face of the universe.

There is an understatement when Bryson says, "There is a moderate number of species that have become extinct since the beginning of life." In reality, over 90% of species have become extinct.

The novel alludes to Martha Honey's book on tourism, which details human activities that destroy the environment.

The description of the occurrence of the supernovae depicts a sense of sight. The narrator says, “Supernovae occur when a giant star, one much bigger than our own Sun, collapses and then spectacularly explodes, releasing in an instant energy of a hundred billion suns burning for a time brighter than all the stars in its galaxy.”

The main paradox is that humans destroy the same environment they depend on for survival.

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Meteors are personified when the author says they inflict pain and loss on other organisms whenever they collide while orbiting.